One of the most frugal ways to watch TV is to simply pluck public channels from over-the-air broadcasts. Public channels include the majors — NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC — plus other great free programming, like shows on PBS, often broadcasting with better image quality than cable. That means you don't miss many major events. Last night's State of the Union, the Olympics, and NFL football all have a home on public stations. All you need is a TV with a digital tuner (so, basically any flat screen from the past ten years) and an antenna and you're in. But which antenna? There's no best antenna — hell, there's no such thing as an HD antenna — but the Mohu Leaf is a good choice, especially if you're in the city or suburbs. Lifehacker's Alan Henry reviewed the Leaf and had nice things to say:

Cutting the cable and switching to streaming video doesn't mean you have to miss out on the…
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Our own Adam Pash already owns a Leaf, and both of us agree-it works as advertised, if not better... When I set it up I was surprised at the number of channels I was able to get and how clear they came in, even though I live in an urban area. Just putting the Leaf on the wall directly behind my TV yielded a surprising number of local and public channels and great video quality.

Today Adorama's got a great sale on the page-sized gadget. They're offering it for $25 with free shipping — and it's still $40 on Amazon. That's a great price for an appliance that you set and forget, at least until you move out. [Adorama]

Top Deals

The First Officially Apple-Approved Lightning Cables from Amazon and Monoprice

These cables fall somewhere between the $2 Chinese knockoff Lightning cables and Apple's $30 option. But what makes these different from the Chinese cables of dubious origin is that Apple's given them the official OK. They're Made for iPhone/iPad/iPod, the title Apple bestows on manufacturers that meet their high standards — or simply attend the right meetings and pay the right fee. [Amazon, Monoprice via MacRumors] h/t J. D. Levite

Apple

Apple just cut prices on a whole bunch of Retina MacBook pros. While the 15" models didn't get a price drop, they did get upgraded processors. Also notable is a long-overdue price cut to the 256GB MacBook Air.

Laptops

Desktops

Tablets

Nope.

Screens

We gave you the cheap antenna, keep looking here for really cheap TVs.

Portables

Nope.

Camera

The GoPro 3 Black is currently the consensus best consumer action cam, and usually a gadget status like that means it won't go on sale for a while. But on Ebay today you can save $40 and potentially skip taxes. I'd say that's a Dealzmodo. [Ebay via Wirecutter]

Hobomodo

A note on Dealzmodo: We're professional shoppers. We wade through virtual mall after cyber storefront to figure out what's actually a bargain. Yes, we make money if you end up buying. That's capitalism, but we're absolutely looking out for your best interest. Read this if you want to know more.